1 killed, 8 wounded in Ukraine's attack on Russia's Belgorod region, claims its governor

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - One woman died and eight other people were injured in an attack by Ukraine on Russia's Belgorod region, according to its Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov on Tuesday.

In a Telegram statement, Gladkov said another woman is in intensive care in serious condition after being injured in an attack by Ukrainian "saboteurs" who launched their offensive the day before.

The Russian military and law enforcement continue fighting on the territory of the Grayvoronsky district of the Belgorod region with a "sabotage group" of Ukraine's armed forces, he added.

The Belgorod region authorities declared a regime of a counterterrorism operation, which establishes special measures and temporary restrictions, including identity checks.

Separately, Ukraine's Sumy region military administration claimed that people are evacuated from the Akhtyr district bordering Russia's Belgorod region.

Ukrainian news broadcaster Hromadske, citing Ukraine's military intelligence sources, said on Monday that two groups fighting on the side of the country's armed forces that were formed in March 2022 by ethnic Russians opposing the war -- the Liberty of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps -- are behind the attack.

A Ukrainian military intelligence official confirmed that his government was aware of the operation but did not declare its direct involvement.

The groups are also claimed to be behind the March 2 attack on Russia's Bryansk region, which left one person killed and a 10-year-old boy injured.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the incident in the Bryansk region "a terrorist attack."